There are many types of illuminated ornamental devices presently available to the public. Often, such devices operate using conventional household alternating current, thereby requiring unsightly wires and consuming large quantities of energy. Music boxes are also many and varied in the prior art. However, no prior art ornaments have combined music with self-powered illumination in such a manner that the entire decorated surface can be brightly illuminated.
One example of prior art ornaments is U.S. Pat. No. 2,726,320, which discloses an ornament containing an electric light bulb connected to an electric cord and powered by household alternating current.
Another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,303,734, discloses a Christmas ornament with a music box inside, but without a light.
The ornament shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,880 is self-powered, but the arrangement of the battery pack and neon lamps permits only partial illumination of the ornament when lit. Moreover, it would be impossible to decorate this ornament with acetate shrink wrap and still have access to the mechanism of the ornament to change the battery or the light bulbs.
In the well-know method of decorating objects with acetate shrink wrap, the desired design is printed directly on a flat, rectangular sheet of acetate shrink wrap (commonly made from extruded polyvinylchloride film), then the rectangular sheet of acetate is formed into a cylinder. Next, the cylinder is slipped over and positioned on the object to be decorated. Finally, heat is applied, "shrinking" the sheet so it forms a tight skin around the object. Due to the strength of the wrap, the ornament cannot be separated along any seam covered by the decorative acetate sheet.